shredaholic
New member
Why doesn't anyone use Oak in making guitars? Does it have bad physical or sonic properties?
Oak As A Guitar Wood
- Thread starter shredaholic
- Start date
Re: Oak As A Guitar Wood
My first homemade guitar had an Oak top.... 1 1/2 inches of Mahogany and 1/4 of Flame white Oak which i hear is rare..... so i used it just because it is rare....
Brian May's Red Special has parts of it made of Oak....
Oak never caught on and it is not thought of as the best tone wood.... My body sounds great with the Oak top..... it still has lots of Mahogany under it... but i bet a solid Oak body would be a different beast!
My first homemade guitar had an Oak top.... 1 1/2 inches of Mahogany and 1/4 of Flame white Oak which i hear is rare..... so i used it just because it is rare....
Brian May's Red Special has parts of it made of Oak....
Oak never caught on and it is not thought of as the best tone wood.... My body sounds great with the Oak top..... it still has lots of Mahogany under it... but i bet a solid Oak body would be a different beast!
Artie
Peaveyologist
Re: Oak As A Guitar Wood
There may be one other reason that oak isn't used on solid body guitars, and I found this out by accident while looking up info on the "is Korina a wood" thread.
Oak has a very high acid content. So high, that the website in question was talking about the difficulty in glueing it as compared to other woods. Not sure if thats a factor or not.
There may be one other reason that oak isn't used on solid body guitars, and I found this out by accident while looking up info on the "is Korina a wood" thread.
Oak has a very high acid content. So high, that the website in question was talking about the difficulty in glueing it as compared to other woods. Not sure if thats a factor or not.
Lake Placid Blues
New member
Re: Oak As A Guitar Wood
I did an experimental body once about 15 years ago. It is very, very bright, by it's self. As a top wood over a darker tone wood it might be okay. It's also extremely heavy, compared to even something like maple or northern ash.
I did an experimental body once about 15 years ago. It is very, very bright, by it's self. As a top wood over a darker tone wood it might be okay. It's also extremely heavy, compared to even something like maple or northern ash.
Sludgenutz
New member
Re: Oak As A Guitar Wood
I think a lot of the problem may be the grain structure of Oak. Although similar to Ash, and Hickory, Oak tends to have deeper/coarser layers in its grain structure. The layers that take the to the darker stain seen within a piece of this wood are rather string-y, much like a hollow layer of bundled straws. This cannot be seen as consistent/beneficial to tone.
I think a lot of the problem may be the grain structure of Oak. Although similar to Ash, and Hickory, Oak tends to have deeper/coarser layers in its grain structure. The layers that take the to the darker stain seen within a piece of this wood are rather string-y, much like a hollow layer of bundled straws. This cannot be seen as consistent/beneficial to tone.
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JamesPaul
Well-known member
Re: Oak As A Guitar Wood
I actually attempted to make my own guitar body once also. My motivation was stumbling upon some oak that had been drying for 20+ years in an old lumber mill. I came up with a body design but I abandoned the idea as soon as I got the body cut out. I think wearing a battleship would've been lighter than that solid oak!
Lake Placid Blues said:
I actually attempted to make my own guitar body once also. My motivation was stumbling upon some oak that had been drying for 20+ years in an old lumber mill. I came up with a body design but I abandoned the idea as soon as I got the body cut out. I think wearing a battleship would've been lighter than that solid oak!
shredaholic
New member
Re: Oak As A Guitar Wood
The reason I ask is that we've had loads of 100 year old Oak trees being felled on our street, and it seems such a shame to waste them....
The reason I ask is that we've had loads of 100 year old Oak trees being felled on our street, and it seems such a shame to waste them....
danglybanger
ReelItInologist
Re: Oak As A Guitar Wood
its illegal to fell those where I live
can someone say dining table?
its illegal to fell those where I live
can someone say dining table?
JacksonMIA
Lemur-buckerologist
Re: Oak As A Guitar Wood
Yeah, make some furniture out of them. It'll dull your tools really quick, though.
It's too bad oak and pine aren't good guitar woods, because there's a ton of it around here.
Yeah, make some furniture out of them. It'll dull your tools really quick, though.
It's too bad oak and pine aren't good guitar woods, because there's a ton of it around here.
frankfalbo
In Fluence Y'all
Re: Oak As A Guitar Wood
Yes but tone problem not solved
It is very difficult to get anything toneful from an Oak body. With the wide variety of pickups and electronics today, you can get a good, usable tone out of anything, but you're starting with something that doesn't respond the way we're all used to. It's not akin to anything today's (or yesterday's) mainstream guitarist would consider good.
But, if you take a one-piece back, hollow it out, and use a Maple cap, you might have a decent sounding box. If I had a bunch of it taking up space, I might try that. Like a thinline tele, but even more hollow, perhaps with a thinner top. If you really hollow it out, the box should have a little bark to it. The problem is, who wants to blow time hollowing out Oak? There are plenty of woods that will sound better and work easier. So like I said, only if I had a bunch of it that I didn't know what to do with. Otherwise make furniture, or hey, sell the huge Oak tree, and use the money to buy a Swamp Ash body blank.
Yes but tone problem not solved
It is very difficult to get anything toneful from an Oak body. With the wide variety of pickups and electronics today, you can get a good, usable tone out of anything, but you're starting with something that doesn't respond the way we're all used to. It's not akin to anything today's (or yesterday's) mainstream guitarist would consider good.
But, if you take a one-piece back, hollow it out, and use a Maple cap, you might have a decent sounding box. If I had a bunch of it taking up space, I might try that. Like a thinline tele, but even more hollow, perhaps with a thinner top. If you really hollow it out, the box should have a little bark to it. The problem is, who wants to blow time hollowing out Oak? There are plenty of woods that will sound better and work easier. So like I said, only if I had a bunch of it that I didn't know what to do with. Otherwise make furniture, or hey, sell the huge Oak tree, and use the money to buy a Swamp Ash body blank.
Zhurh
New member
Re: Oak As A Guitar Wood
I have a shed full of old dry american chestnut. Carefully removed from old barns, beeswaxed ends, and stored. Some of the inch boards are 26 inches wide; nice stuff. I called warmouth and they said no way for guitar wood. Later I wanted to use on custom bruno amp and was again told to stay away from chestnut; pine has best resonance for amp cabinets. Oak sure would look rich, but might not have proper sound dynamics.
I have a shed full of old dry american chestnut. Carefully removed from old barns, beeswaxed ends, and stored. Some of the inch boards are 26 inches wide; nice stuff. I called warmouth and they said no way for guitar wood. Later I wanted to use on custom bruno amp and was again told to stay away from chestnut; pine has best resonance for amp cabinets. Oak sure would look rich, but might not have proper sound dynamics.
S
Skarekrough
Guest
Re: Oak As A Guitar Wood
Good for barrels for aging whiskey....bad for guitars.
Got it.
Good for barrels for aging whiskey....bad for guitars.
Got it.
shredaholic
New member
Re: Oak As A Guitar Wood
Well if it makes a nice veneer, I guess just keeping a little bit would be sorted for making plenty of veneers.
There's a big dispute in the neighbourhood going on about these trees. The way they built our houses around them meant that they've not been drawing up enough water/nutrients, and most of them are either dying or will be dying soon. One of the neighbours actually has a tree that's grown over his conservatory, and is reguarly dropping branches on top of it but the council still won't let him cut it back far enough to stop it doing that because they've all got preservation orders. Looks like there's gonna be a lot of fallen oak on our driveway pretty soon though, so I might have to grab the chainsaw and get a bit for myself!
Well if it makes a nice veneer, I guess just keeping a little bit would be sorted for making plenty of veneers.
There's a big dispute in the neighbourhood going on about these trees. The way they built our houses around them meant that they've not been drawing up enough water/nutrients, and most of them are either dying or will be dying soon. One of the neighbours actually has a tree that's grown over his conservatory, and is reguarly dropping branches on top of it but the council still won't let him cut it back far enough to stop it doing that because they've all got preservation orders. Looks like there's gonna be a lot of fallen oak on our driveway pretty soon though, so I might have to grab the chainsaw and get a bit for myself!
